Day 8: Tuesday, 8/24/10, Icy Strait Point - Whale Watching

Tuesday, we got out nice and early to go on a Whale & Marine Mammals Cruise in Icy Strait Point.

We had to take little shuttle boats from the cruise ship to the docks, where we got to look at a fish processing exhibit before boarding the whale watching ship.

Barely away from the dock and we saw some dolphins checking us out. [Editor's note: porpoises]

Cousin Shira and Mommy taking in the breeze.

Bald Eagle eating. . .something.

Mommy, Grandma Shelly, and cousin Shira.

A fishing boat.

Thar she blows!!!

A humpback whale has lungs like two Volkswagen Beetles. They come to the surface and exhale an enormous plume of steamy air before diving back into the water.







Paul was very. . ."impressed" by all the amazing nature. Note to self: don't sign up for activities during nap time.

Um, "cruise" control?





We saw several mother-calf pairs, or maybe the same pair several times. There were definitely at least two discrete pods that followed us for a while.

This is not one of those pods.

Some seals decided to check us out, too. [Editor's note: Sea Lions]


These are not those seals.

Hope you enjoyed the "tale" of our whale watching adventure!

Day 7: Monday, 8/23/10, Skagway

First on the agenda in Skagway. . .Paul and Asher pile on top of Jonah!

The whole gang deboard the boat. . .

. . .and embark on a Street Car Tour of the old gold rush town.

We could see the cruise ship from a look-out point on the outskirts of town. Since the end of the gold rush, tourism - specifically, cruise passengers - are the main source of income. There are about 800 year-round residents in Skagway, which swells to about 2,000 during the 5-month tourism season. On average, cruise ships bring about 20,000 tourists to town each day of the season.

Fog on the mountain cares for no tourist.

After the official tour, Safta took Paul back to the ship, Grandma Shelly and Mommy wandered around the many tourist traps, er charming shoppes, and Daddy took cousin Jonah out for some crabs.

Stuffed like a crab!

After consuming their crustaceans, Daddy and Jonah wandered around town. . .

. . .where Jonah became sworn in as a deputy ranger.

When we got back to the ship, we found our towels had been magically transformed into a turtle!

Day 6: Sunday, 8/22/10, Juneau, part 2

In the afternoon, Daddy, Grandpa Steve, and Uncle Eric took a nature hike to the Mendenhall Glacier.


On the way, they saw some interesting wildlife, including:
Salmon (interesting fact: by the time salmon spawn, they are practically zombies. Ew.)

***braaaaiiiinnnsssss***

A porcupine climbing a tree. How cute is that?

A blue bird - perhaps a Mountain Blue Bird? [Editor's note: Steller's Jay]

And the legendary - and very elusive - Wild Eric.

Beautiful view.

Iceberg!

Glacier and icebergs.

The Weil Men.

Day 6: Sunday, 8/22/10, Juneau, part 1

In Juneau, we took the Mount Roberts Tramway to a nature and culture center at the top. We have never been able to miss out on a good fenicula ride.

Can you spot the eagle in this picture?

The trick is to look for the golf ball in the tree - can you see him now?

Can you spot the cruise ship in this picture? The trick is to look for a huge boat by the dock.


Safta's wingspan.

Mommy and Paul take a teeny hike.

Paul is thrilled with his new friend. He named the eagle "Nose."

Daddy, Paul, and Nose.

Day 5: Saturday, 8/21/10, Hubbard Glacier

Saturday was our first full day of cruising, as we made our way to Juneau. We took a side tour through Disenchantment Bay. . .

(which, was actually quite enchanting) to see a teeny part of the immense Hubbard Glacier.

This was the view from our room's balcony - Hello Aunt Andi!

The Hubbard Glacier is absolutely huge. This wiki article mentions how it advanced forward enough to completely close off the Russel Fjord in 1986. This is that Fjord (currently open).

Paul loved the deck chairs the best.

Joss enjoyed the bracing glacial breezes.

Daddy liked the Paul hugs.

Please note Paul is wearing two (2) hats.

The whiter area in the center of the picture below is where an iceberg "calved" off of the glacier. A calving is preceded by a rolling thundery sound, then giant chunks of ice just slough off. The little dark specks in the bottom left front are seals.

Close up of the seals! There were dozens of them, literally chilling out by the glacier.

This is a "calf" or an iceberg.

It was amazing to see the layers and the gorgeous shades of blue on the glacial face. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

We were lucky enough to see the biggest calving the cruise captain has ever seen. It was like a house falling down. It was real and it was spectacular.